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Truncated Travel
15 March 2017

Truncated Travel

The good news is that our cells are guarded by tumour suppressor proteins, which look for DNA damage and initiate any necessary repairs. But, if the genes coding for these proteins become mutated, cells containing damaged DNA are then able to grow and replicate out of control. In human cancers, one such gene called p53 is frequently mutated. Researchers have recently found mutations that cause certain shortened versions of the p53 protein to be produced – called truncating mutations – are enough to prevent the tumour suppressing function. Cells with truncated p53 also undergo a structural change (pictured on the right), compared to those with the full-length counterpart (left-hand side). These structural changes ultimately allowed cancerous cells to break away from the tissue, and travel and spread to other tissues in the body.

Written by Katie Panteli

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BPoD stands for Biomedical Picture of the Day. Managed by the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences until Jul 2023, it is now run independently by a dedicated team of scientists and writers. The website aims to engage everyone, young and old, in the wonders of biology, and its influence on medicine. The ever-growing archive of more than 4000 research images documents over a decade of progress. Explore the collection and see what you discover. Images are kindly provided for inclusion on this website through the generosity of scientists across the globe.

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